Peach-screen



2 Sheets-Sheet'l.

Patented July 24, 1894.

(N0 Mode1.

J. P. WILSON. PEACH SCREEN. N0. 523,498.

A TTOHNEYS.

(No Mader) 2 sheetssheet 2.

- J. PQWILSON.

PEACH SCREEN.

No. 523,498. Patented July 24, 1894.

A TTOH/VEYS.

of the apparatus embodying my invention.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN P. WILSON, OF HAMBURG, NEW JERSEY..

PEACH-SCREEN.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 523,498, dated July 24, 1894.

l Application filed Merch 24, 1894. Serial No. 504,959. (Nomodel.)

.To all whom it may concern,.-

Be it known that I, JOHN P. WILSON, of Hamburg, in the county of Sussex and State of New Jersey, have invented a new and Improved Peach-Screen, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact/description.

My invention relates to improvements in that class of apparatus which are used for sorting and screening peaches, so that the peaches may be accurately graded in various sizes; and the object of my invention is to produce a cheap and simple apparatus of this kind, by which the peaches may be rapidly and nicely sorted and graded,and also to produce an-apparatuswhich may be used for screening other articles if desired.

A further object of my invention is to construct and arrange the apparatus in such a way that each grade of peaches will be delivered through an independent spout at one side of the screen.

To these ends my invention consists of cer! tain features of construction and combinations of parts, which will be hereinafter described and claimed.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which similar figures of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the views.v

Figure 1 is a broken longitudinal section Fig. 2 is a broken plan View of the apparatus. Fig. 3 is an end view of the same. Fig. 4 is a vertical section on the line 4-4 of Fig. 1; and Fig. 5 is a broken perspective view of two sections of the screen rails, showing their means of support and the manner in which their abutting ends are united.

The apparatus is provided with a suitable v supporting framework 10, which has closed sides 11 at the top and it has an inclined bed 12 extending from one end to the other, the, upper portion of the bed being formed of par-` allel rails 12n shown clearly in Fig. 3, these rails having top ribs 12b in the center which cause the peaches to roll between the rails but not to fall between them. The bed is prof vided at necessary intervals with transverse slots 13 through which peaches may fall, and the slots deliver into transverse spouts 14 which are inclined laterally, as yshown in Fig. 4, so that-the peaches run to one side of the cross pieces 16 of the next section.

frameworkl and may be caught in any suitable receptacle prepared to receive them. The spouts if desired may be made of canvas or other flexible material, which will not injure the peaches.

Above the bed and supported at a sufficient height to permit peaches to roll between them and the bed, are rails 15 which are wider at 6o the top than at the bottom, so that peaches may fall between them Without wedging, and these rails are made up in sections, the rails of each section being secured to cross pieces 16 which serve t o support them and which also 65 hold the rails the necessary distance apart. l The cross pieces 16 are adapted to rest on supporting blocks 17 which are arranged transversely on the bed just below each slot 13, and the rail sections 15 are also provided with 7o abutment blocks 18 adapted to tit against the The rails 15 are each provided with top ribs 19 which extend longitudinally thereon and cause the peaches to roll betweenv the said rails. The

length of the rail sections corresponds to the distance between two of the supporting blocks 17 and there is a set of these rail sections for each spout 14.

The rails 15 of each section are mortised to 8o the rails of the next section, as shown at 20, so that either section may be removed' if desired, and the rails of each section are evenly spaced from those of any other section, the rails being progressively wider apart as they 8 5 approach the lower end of the machine. For instance, the rails in the upper section are spaced so that the smallest grade of peaches will fall through and pass to the upper spout 14 while the'next larger grade will fall through 9ol to the next spout and so on, until nally the largest peaches ot' all pass out` at the lower end of the screen.

At the lower end of the rails 15 is a spout 22 through which the largest peaches run, the 95 spout having side anges 23 which guide them to the mouth 24 of the spout. In thesides 11 of the screen, at points opposite the meeting ends of the rail sections 15,are grooves 25 in which are held removable partitions 26 which :ce check the [low of peaches, as described below.

At the upper end of the bed and above the upper spout is a push bar 27, by means of which the peaches may be pushed down if necessary, this bar having a forked handle 28 which hangs down between the rails 12a, and by raising the handle and pushing longitudinally the bar may be moved over the bed so as t0 push the peaches in front of it into the upper spout 14.

Beneath the upper end of the screen is a table 29 on which baskets of peaches may be placed previously to being sorted. In sorting ro and screening the peaches the partitions 26 are placed in the grooves 25, as illustrated in Fig. 1, and the peaches to be sorted are dumped on the upper rail sections 15 and the rotten and imperfect ones are sorted out by 15 hand, while the smaller ones drop through between the rail sections and through the slot 13 to the upper spout 14, from which they run to a receptacle prepared to receive them. The upper partition 26 is then raised and the 2o peaches pushed onward down the rail sections l5, andthe next size drop through into the second spout 14, this operation being repeated with the several sections until iinally the Very large peaches roll out through the spout 22.

Having thus described my invention, I.

claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1. Apeach screen, comprising an inclined bed having transverse slots therein, laterally 3o inclined spouts arranged beneath the slots,

removable rails held above the `bed and arranged in detachable sections, the rails of each section being held at dierent distances apart from those of the other section, and removable partitions above the meeting ends of the 3 5 rail sections, substantially as described.

2. The combination, with the inclined slotted bed, of the rail sections arranged above it, the sections having their meeting ends mortised together, substantially as described. 4o

3. The combination, with the inclined slotted bed, of the grading rails above it, each rail having a central longitudinal rib on its upper surface, the surface at each side of the rib being flat, substantially as described.

4. The combination, with the inclined and transversely slotted bed and the spouts beneath the slots, of the vertically grooved side pieces above the bed, the removable grading rail sections held between the side pieces, and 5o the removable partitions held in the grooves of the side pieces, substantially as described.

5. The combination, with `the slotted bed and the grading rails above it, of the push bar arranged transversely on the bed, and a handle for the bar, substantially as described.

JOHN l?. WILSON.

Witnesses:

RAYMOND CASE, DAVID B. HETZEL. 

